Condensate disposal arrangement for air conditioning units



y 1959 A. H. EBERHART 2,896,860 CONDENSATE DISPOSAL ARRANGEMENT FOR AIR CONDITIONING UNITS Filed July 9, 1956 |1 l6 9 o o FIGZ).

INVENTOR ARTHUR H. EBERHART United States Patent ice CONDENSATE DISPOSAL ARRANGEMENT FOR AIR CONDITIONING UNITS Arthur 'H. Eberhart, East Longmeadow, Mass, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 9, 1956, Serial No. 596,669

4 Claims. (Cl. 239-420) This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and more particularly to an improved condensate disposal system for room or unit type air conditioners.

When operating to cool the air in an enclosure, refrigerative air conditioners condense moisture from the air which must be disposed of. This moisture, which is commonly termed condensate, is normally reevaporated into the air outside of the enclosure by conveying it onto the condenser portion of the refrigerating system. To accomplish this disposal operation, the air conditioning unit is generally provided with a condensate collection pan disposed in the vicinity of the condenser, and a slinger ring on the condenser air fan is employed to lift the condensate from the pan and into the condenser air stream. The slinger ring in apparatus of this type must have its lower edge immersed in the body of condensate in order to operate effectively. The body of condensate is not, however, in a quiescent state, since the action of the slinger ring and of the air propelled by the condenser fan and moving over the surface of the condensate tends to move the body of condensate across the pan and away from the slinger ring. This movement of the body of condensate starves the slinger ring, rendering it less effective and, in some instances, the condensate is actually spilled over the edge of the storage tray, giving an undesirable drip of condensate from the unit.

This invention provides a means for returning to the slinger ring condensate which is moved away from the slinger ring and to one side of the storage pan. The device for accomplishing this objective preferably takes the form of an inverted channel member disposed in the condensate storage pan in such a manner as to provide a shielded flow path in the storage pan from the side of the pan to which the condensate is being moved, back to a region of the pan adjacent the slinger ring.

It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide an improved condensate disposal arrangement for air conditioning units.

It is another object of this. invention to provide an improved condensate collection pan arrangement for air conditioning units employing a slinger ring condensate disposal system.

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of the condensing portion of an air conditioning unit employing the condensate disposal arrangement of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus taken as indicated by the line IIII of Fig. l; V

Fig. 3 is another vertical sectional view of the apparatus taken as indicated by the line IIIIII of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the condensate flow channel of this invention.

Referring to the drawing for a detailed description of this invention, the numeral 11 designates a finned tube condenser for an air conditioning unit employing a compressor-condenser-expander refrigerating circuit. Only the condensing portion of the air conditioning unit is illustrated in the drawings, and since such systems are in common use and are well understood by those skilled in the art, the overall arrangement will be discussed but briefly. The condenser 11 receives compressed rerefrigerant from a motor compressor unit (not shown), and this refrigerant gives up heat and is condensed therein. .A fan 12 driven by a motor 13 blows air over the condenser 11 to carry away the heat given up by the refrigerant. The condensed refrigerant is then conveyed through an expansion device to an evaporator or cooling unit which chills the air in the enclosure to be cooled, such as a room or office. As this room air is cooled, moisture is condensed therefrom which is collected and conveyed by any suitable means (not shown) to a condensate collection pan 14 disposed beneath the condenser 11.

The condensate which collects in the pan 14 (identified in the drawing by the numeral 15) is lifted into the stream of air being propelled by the fan 12 by means of a slinger ring 16 carried on the periphery of the fan 12. As shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, the lowemost edge of the slinger ring 16 is disposed within a portion of the condensate pan 14 in contact with the body of condensate therein. As the slinger ring 16 spins (rotation is clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2) it picks up condensate from the pan 14 and slings it upwardly into the condenser air stream which is confined to flow over the faces thereof absorbing heat and at least partially evap? orating. The unevaporated condensate on the condenser drains back'into the condensate collection pan 14 and is recirculated by the slinger ring 16-fan 12 combination.

The particular slinger ring construction illustrated forms no part of the present invention and is described and claimed in the copending application of George W. Wood, Serial No. 568,092, filed February 27, 1956, entitled Air Conditioning Apparatus, and assigned to the assignee of this application. The instant invention is usable with slinger ring structures of the prior art as well as with other means for lifting the condensate from the pan 15.

The air propelled by the fan 12 has a vertical spinning movement as it leaves the fan, and as indicated by the dotted line arrows in Figs. 1 through 3, the air moving across the surface of the body of condensate 15 has a component which is sideways with respect to the axis of the fan. In other words, the air issuing from the lower sector of the fan in the vicinity of the surface of the con densate 15 is moving to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2..

the lowermost portion of the slinger ring is traveling;

again, this is to the left as viewed Figs. 1 and 2. The effect of these two actions is: the piling up of condensate 15 at one side of the pan away from the fan 12 and the slinger ring 16, starving the slinger ring and, in some instances, actually causing the condensate 15 to spill over the edge of the shallow pan 14.

In accordance with this invention, a shielded flow path is provided through which condensate blown and thrown to one side of the pan may return to the region of the pan in which the slinger ring is located. This flow path 7 ,Patented July 28, 1959.

11 and shields an elongated region of the pan 14 from,

the air propelled by the fan 12 and from the condensate being thrown around within the shroud 17 by the slinger ring 16. The condensate flow path in the pan 14 is indicated generally by the solid-line arrows in Fig. 1, and it will be noted that condensate collecting near the left-hand side of the pan 14 enters the left-hand end of the channel member 18 and follows a relatively quiescent flow path through the channel 18 back to a region of the pan adjacent the slinger ring 16. The exit end of the channel member 18 (that is, the right-hand end in Figs. 1 and 2) may, if desired, be provided with an enlarged exit opening 19 by omitting a portion of the side wall of the channel.

Fig. 4 illustrates one convenient manner in which the channel member 18 may be secured to the condensate pan 14. As shown there, the channel 18 is. provided with out-turned flange portions 20 and 21 extending trans:- versely from the channel member. One flange 20 is disposed under the condenser 11 and held in place thereby. If desired, the flanges 20 and 21 may be providedwith openings 22 to provide an additional mechanical connection by means of the tacky, tar-like waterproofing compound 23 with which the interior of the condensate pan 14 is normally coated. As shown in Fig. 4, this compound is squeezed up into the openings 22 when the channel member 18 is pressed down against the bottom of pan 14.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that this invention provides a simple yet effective means for insuring a return flow of condensate to the slinger ring 16 and effectively overcomes the undesirable movement of the body of condensatelS under the action of the slinger ring 16 and of the air being moved by the fan 12.

Itshould be pointed out that while the invention is particularly applicable to condensate disposal arrangements employing a slinger ring condensate lifting means, it is likewise applicable to systems in which some means other than a slinger ring is employed to lift the condensate 15 from the pan 14. The invention is applicable to any arrangement wherein it is desirable to provide for flow of the body of condensate in opposition to the movement of the condensate under the action of the air being blown by a fan.

While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is notso-limited but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In air conditioning apparatus or thelike, the combination of a pan adapted to contain a body of liquid, a fan adapted to blow air across and in contact with the surface of the liquid in said pan, means for lifting liquid from said pan and into the stream of air moved by said fan, the stream of air issuing from said fan tending to move the body of liquid in said pan to one side of the pan and away from saidlifting means whereby the level of liquid is lowered at said lifting means, and means defining a liquid flow path from the region of said pan adjacent said one side to a region of said pan adjacent said lifting means, said path defining means comprising an elongated member disposed on the bottom of said pan and extending from the region of said pan adjacent said one side to the region of saidpan adjacent said lifting means, said member extending upwardly from the bottom of the pan to a region above the level of liquid in said pan for shielding said liquid flow path from the air issuing from said fan.

2. In air conditioning apparatus or the like, the combination of a pan adapted to contain a body of liquid, a fan adapted to blow air across and in contact with the surface of the liquid in said pan, means for lifting liquid from said pan and into the stream of air moved by said fan, the stream of air issuing from said fan tending to move the body of liquid in said pan toward one side of said pan and away from said lifting means whereby the" level of liquid is lowered at said lifting means, and an inverted channel member in said pan and defining a covered liquid flow path from a region of said pan adjacent said one side to a region of said pan adjacent said lifting means.

3. In air conditioning apparatus or the like, the combination of a pan adapted to contain a body of liquid, a fan adapted to blow air across and in contact with the surface of the liquid in said pan, a slinger ring adapted to lift liquid from said pan and into the air moved by said fan, means for rotating said fan and said slinger ring, the construction and arrangement being such that the air issuing from said fan and the action of said slinger ring tend to move the body of liquid in said pan toward one side of the pan and away from said slinger ring where-' by the level of liquid is lowered at said slinger ring, and means defining a liquid flow path from the region of said' pan adjacent said one side to a region of the pan adjacent said slinger ring, said last named means comprising an elongated member disposed on the bottom of said pan and extending from the region of said pan adjacent said one side to the region of said pan adjacent said slinger ring, said member extending upwardly from the bottom of the pan to a region above the level of liquid in said pan for shielding said liquid flow path from the air issuing from said fan and from the action of said slinger ring.

4. In air conditioning apparatus or the like, the combination of a pan adapted to contain a body of liquid, a propeller fan adapted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and mounted above said pan with the periphery thereof disposed close to but spaced from the surface of the body of liquid in said pan, a slinger ring mounted on said fan for rotation therewith and having the lowermost portion thereof disposed within said body of liquid, the construction and arrangement being such that air propelled by said fan and flowing over the surface of said body of liquid moves said liquid away from said slinger ring and toward one side of said pan whereby the level of liquid is lowered at said slinger ring, and an elongated member horizontally disposed in said body of liquid and extending transversely from a region beneath the level of liquid in said pan to a region above the level of liquid in said pan, said member having one end thereof communicating with a region of said pan adjacent said one side of the pan, and the other end thereof communicating with a region of said pan adjacent said slinger ring, whereby said member provides a flow path for liquid in said pan which is shielded from the air moved by said fan.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Roseman June 14, 1955 

